Collapsible pallet for freight and cargo

ABSTRACT

A collapsible load-supporting pallet having a pair of elongated members with an upright arm on each end. A raised central portion in each of the elongated members has a vertically disposed pintle therethrough pivotally connecting the two elongated members. A flat member is removably supported by the upright arms and the raised central portions on the elongated members. A laterally disposed clip pivotally attached to each of the upright arms, releasably holds the flat member in its assigned position on the elongated members. A resilient member on the pintle yieldably urges the two elongated members apart so that they may be pivoted together to facilitate storage when the flat member is removed.

atem [1 1 Unite States La Belle May 28, 1974 COLLAPSIBLE PALLET FOR FREIGHT AND CARGO [76] Inventor: Clayton J. La Belle, River Rouge,

Mich.

[22] Filed: July 5, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 376,424

[52] US. Cl. 108/56, 248/167 [51] Int. Cl 365d 19/00 [58] Field of Search 108/51, 56, 54, 55,58; 248/46, 167, 188.6, 431, 432, 448, 490

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 948,476 2/1910 Daumeyer 248/167 1,401,772 12/1921 Gwyer 248/167 1,959,843 5/1934 Sprague 248/448 2,643,081 6/1953 Spring 108/56 X 3,301,200 l/l967 Landsiedel 108/51 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 949,356 1949 France 248/46 Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel Assistant Examiner-William E. Lyddane Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Adolph G. Martin [57] ABSTRACT A collapsible load-supporting pallet having a pair of elongated members with an upright arm on each end. A raised central portion in each of the elongated members has a vertically disposed pintle therethrough pivotally connecting the two elongated members. A flat member is removably supported by the upright arms and the raised central portions on the elongated members. A laterally disposed clip pivotally attached to each of the upright arms, releasably holds the flat member in its assigned position on the elongated members. A resilient member on the pintle yieldably urges the two elongated members apart so that they may be pivoted together to facilitate storage when the flat member is removed.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures COLLAPSIBLE PALLET FOR FREIGHT AND CARGO BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to load-supporting pallets generally, and more particularly to a collapsible pallet of the type commonly used by the shipping industry in handling freight, and moving it to and from warehouses and loading docks. Pallets presently in use are extremely bulky, and consequently create a storage problem for the shipper. They are also relatively expensive to produce, so the shipper is understandably reluctant to abandon them at their destination.

In the instance of wooden pallets, which are extremely heavy as well as expensive, the shippers incur considerable cost in moving them with the freight to the consignee, and having themreturned for re-use. Fully cognizant of this situation, the applicant has invented a sturdy, fully collapsible, light weight pallet, which can be readily disassembled and compacted to facilitate storage and greatly reduce shipping charges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises a pair of elongated members I and 12 having on each end thereof an, upright arm 14. A pair of inverted U shaped sections 16 and 18 are provided in the central portions of the elongated membersl0 and 12 respectively. A vertically disposed pintle 20, through the inverted U shaped sections.l6 and 18, pivotally connects the two elongated members and I2. A flat member 21 is supportedlaterally by the upright arms 14 and the inverted U shaped sections 16 and 18 in the elongated members 10 and 12 respectively. A laterally disposed clip 22, pivotally attached to each of the upright arms 14, holdably engages the periphery of the flat member 21. A resilient member 30 on the pintle yieldably urges the two elongated members 10 and 12 apart.

DESCRIPTIONO'F THE DRAWING FIG. I is an elevation view of the pallet comprising the applicants invention, showing a carton 28 thereto attached by the adjustable holding straps 26.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, taken substantially on plane 2-2 in FIG. 1, showing the laterally disposed U shaped clips 22 on the upright arms 14.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view, taken substantially on plane 3-3 in FIG. 1, showing the elongated members 10 and 12 in a fully extended position. I I

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section view, taken substantially on plane 44 in FIG. 2, showing structural details of the laterally disposed U shaped clips 22 on the upright arms 14. I I

FIG. 5 is an enlargedsection view, taken substantially on plane 5-5 in FIG. 3, showing the'srnaller inverted- U shaped section 16 in the elongated member 10, and the resilient bushing fully compressed.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged section view, taken substantially on plane 66 in FIG. 3, showing the larger inverted U shaped section 18 in the other elongated member 12.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section view,.similar to FIG. 6, showing the resilient bushing 30 in its fully expanded position. holding the elongated members 10 and 12 apart.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view, showing the elongated members 10 and I2 detached from the flat member 21, and pivoted to a fully compacted position.

CONSTRUCTION For a more detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the-drawing in which numerals 10 and 12 designate a pair of elongated members having on each end thereof an upright arm 14. A pair of inverted U shaped sections 16 and 18 of different widths are provided in'the elongated members 10 and 12 respectively. A vertically disposed pintle 20 through each of the inverted U shaped sections 16 and 18, pivotally connects together the elongated members 10 and 12 for limited relative movement.

A flat member 21 is laterally supported on the upright arms 14, and the inverted U shaped sections 16 and 18 on the elongated members 10 and 12 respectively.'A laterally disposed U shaped clip 22, pivotally attached to each of the upright arms 14, holdably engages the periphery of the flat member 20. A screw 23, through an opening 24 in the upper side of each U shaped clip 22,-retains the flat member 21 in its assigned position. i

A loop 25 on each of the U shaped clips 22, slidably retain therethrough a pair of adjustable holding straps 26. A load, such as the carton 28 shown in FIG. 1, is

releasably held on the flat member 21 of the pallet by use AND OPERATION,

When the applicants pallet is not in use, it may be readily disassembled and collapsed. This is done by pivoting the U shaped clips 22 on the upright arms 14 so as to release the flat member 21,which is then removed from the elongated members 10 and 12. The resilient bushing 30 thereupon immediately expands, and moves the two elongated members 10 and 12 apart to the relative positions shown in FIG. 7.

The elongated 10 and 12 can then be pivoted together to the compacted positions shown in FIG. 8. In this collapsed condition the pallet occupies only a fraction of the space required bythe assembled unit, thereby facilitating storage, and reducing considerably thefreight and transportation costs involved in returning such pallet to the shipper.

Based upon the foregoing discussion, the applicant is of the opinion that his invention has fulfilled a long-feltneed in the field of pallets, and that he has accordingly made a valuable constribution to the related art. However, while the invention was described with reference to the structural details of a single embodiment, it will l. A collapsible pallet comprising two elongated members, an upright arm on each end of the elongated members, a raised central portion in each of the elongated members, a vertically disposed pintle through the raised central portions pivotally connecting together the two elongated members, a flat member removably supported by the upright arms and the raised central portions on the two elongated members, means on the upright arms for holdably engaging the flat member, and a resilient member on the vertically disposed pintle yieldably urging the two elongated members apart,

such resilient member moving the two elongated members apart when they are detached from the flat memally disposed clip comprises a U shaped member. 

1. A collapsible pallet comprising two elongated members, an upright arm on each end of the elongated members, a raised central portion in each of the elongated members, a vertically disposed pintle through the raised central portions pivotally connecting together the two elongated members, a flat member removably supported by the upright arms and the raised central portions on the two Elongated members, means on the upright arms for holdably engaging the flat member, and a resilient member on the vertically disposed pintle yieldably urging the two elongated members apart, such resilient member moving the two elongated members apart when they are detached from the flat member so that they can be pivoted together and brought into a relatively compacted relationship.
 2. The collapsible pallet of claim 1 in which the raised central portion in each of the elongated members comprises an inverted ''U'' shaped section.
 3. The collapsible pallet of claim 2 in which the means on the upright arms for holdably engaging the flat member comprises a laterally disposed clip pivotally attached to each of the upright arms.
 4. The collapsible pallet of claim 3 in which the laterally disposed clip comprises a ''U'' shaped member. 